Demon-Haunted World

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Summary: Lovely premise, but..
Review: I haven't a quibble with Dr. Sagan himself, or with skepticism as a vital tool of reason. I agree with most of the things he had to say, and I've always enjoyed "debunking". (Does anyone else remember Nova shredding Von Daniken's books on PBS several years ago?) However, as the book progressed, it began to seem less like a rational look at popular beliefs and more like a sermon on Scientific Doctrine. Perhaps it was simply that I found his tone increasingly grumpy -- he seemed deeply annoyed with those whose beliefs he was dissecting. Sagan was always the premier evangelist of Science, bringing the word and the scientific method to the common man. Never before has he seemed so fed-up with the ignorance of those he's trying to enlighten.

Much of the content can be found elsewhere, by Sagan and other authors. I read the book because I usually enjoy his work. Although the book is pretty solid and generally well-written (as always for Sagan), I was disappointed and a bit dismayed by it's tone.

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Summary: In The Year 2525...
Review: An overall criticism of this book can be made by a response to one of its particular points. Carl Sagan is curious as to why many people seem to resist and distrust science, and wonders how science could be considered dehumanizing.

First, science is dehumanizing because of its obsession with dominating and controlling nature, and because for four centuries it has been the handmaiden of militarism, nationalism, industrialism and authoritarianism. Second, science insists that cognitive understanding is the only valid way of knowing. Trouble is, this leaves out about 95% of our human experience. The intellect is valuable, however, idolizing it while devaluing and excluding other aspects of ourselves is pathological.

A cerebral society, cut off from embodied experience, is no better off than a society besotted by superstition. The quintessential stereotype of the scientist is not the Nerd, as Sagan seems to think, but instead a bloodless, utterly detached figure, supremely rational--and devoid of humanity.

Third, science dehumanizes anyone who perceives the world in mechanical terms. There is an unfortunate implication in The Demon Haunted World that the embracing of science and rationalism will eliminate atrocity. Gruesomely recounting the witch mania of the 1600s, Sagan neglects to add that in the same century, scientists were dispassionately nailing animals to boards and vivisecting them alive, thinking they were just machines who could not feel pain. And such acts were only the beginning for science. Barbarous behavior is the same whether it is committed by the hysterical fanatic, or the cool rationalist. As long as such acts continue to be perpetrated in the name of scientific research, Sagan has no cause to complain about witch trials, inquisitions, or the death of Hypatia.

The separation of science from somatic experience has provided some objective understanding of the workings of nature. But science (in its current form) cannot fully know reality, because reality is primarily an experience of Being, whereas science, with its psychic distance, remains on the outside.

So the popular distrust of science that had Carl Sagan scratching his head may have an intuitive basis. Merely acquiring more intellectual knowledge cannot begin to satisfy our somatic and spiritual selves. It does not make us happier or more humane. And it can yield at best an incomplete understanding of the Universe. Yet Sagan, in the Demon Haunted World, seems to be urging us to limit ourselves in just that way.

Rating:
Summary: This should be required reading in American schools
Review: To the reader from Madison WI-- scientists do not "deny access to ordinary people". Scientists are ordinary people who went to school and studied science. That opportunity is open, through the public school system, to everyone. The sad part is that so few avail themselves to it.

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Summary: My dream: This book as required reading in schools.
Review: After years of trying to put my beliefs into words, I finally found a book that not only states these beliefs, but expounds on them in a profound and entertaining way. Please read this book, and please pass it along. We all know people who are amazed by 1-900 psychics. We all know people who truly believe that their relationship is succeeding/failing solely on the fact that they are a Capricorn, and their mate is a Virgo. These people need our help. Give them the book, it's not too late.

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Summary: embittered rear-guard rant, prolonged battle with straw men.
Review: Poor Carl-- he alienates the very people he wishes to reach by LAYING DOWN THE LAW and subverting his own message. I would have felt more empowered if he had given more time to the anti-scientific forces that kept, say, Chiropractry out of mainstream medicine for so long. As it was I felt preached-at and talked-down-to. Ultimately, non-scientists are structurally denied access to the equipment we would need to test any of our hypotheses about the world-- so unless they want to allow free access to the super-conducting super-colider we non-scientists are out of luck. No test, no respect.

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Summary: Without question, a book everyone should read and enjoy
Review: Both this book and its author have been absolute favorites of mine in the science literature world ever since I read it at age thirteen. Sagan writes about everything from witch burning to the short-comings of American science education. Those who were obviously not as impressed as I am are now grousing that Sagan's enduring skepticism "has no place in the lives of private citizens." "He was just like the diehard religious men and women who delight in explaining why everybody else is wrong." That's nonsense. I say he didn't intend to bash pseudoscience scholars so much as reach the few who might be willing to question themselves and others. Dr. (yes it's Dr, all of you who called him 'Mr'!!)Sagan was right on for his application of skepticism and analysis outside of the science lab. Because whatever idea it may be, whether it's an astrological column or propaganda in the media, it can shape your most cherished beliefs. If you're going to believe in something, why not be as right as you could possibly be? As corny as it sounds, it's why every human should read The Demon-Haunted World.

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Summary: chapter 3 please
Review: can someone summarize chapter 3 and send it to [e-mail]

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Summary: Extraordinary!! Enlightening!!
Review: So many books, so little time--yet this book should be required reading for the human race. Sagan's patient and guiding ways lead one to understanding the bunk and frauds that plague humans. He manuevers one through a maze of historical misunderstandings. He makes you appreciate the self-correcting process of science. He emphasises the importance of learning to think straight. Anyone can read this book and walk away feeling less afraid, less susceptible to being taken in by the fruad of our time. This book illuminates the mind. Sagan quotes the old adage, 'It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.' Sagan is that flame.

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Summary: The Sagan's Masterpiece
Review: Sagan, in this book, gave us a frightening portrait of our civilization. While one could show a medicine for a disease, others will look for magic crystals; two friends could burn geometrical figures in the fields and make a "reliable proof" of UFOs that lasted for decades; in the age of DNA, most American students still believe in the Criation. This is a warning, and it should be read for everyone.

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Summary: Can help you develop a "foolproof, shockproof crap detector"
Review: The most important thing that an education can do is develop your internal "foolproof, shockproof crap detector". The Demon-Haunted World does this better than any book I know. Pernicious pseudo-scientific beliefs, if not combatted, will come back to haunt and perhaps cripple civilization in the coming century. One can see this already in the millions of people who believe in astrology, or that humans never walked on the moon - never mind the schizophrenically diseased who believe in alien abductions and such.

A must read in Kansas and everywhere. Thanks Carl - you're one of my personal heroes. You've been gone three years now, but I and many others keep a special place in our hearts for you.